Movie Review: The Midnight Meat Train

The Midnight Meat Train

Rating:  

Directed By: Ryûhei Kitamura

Starring: Bradley Cooper, Vinnie Jones

Plot Synopsis:

When Leon Kaufman’s (Bradley Cooper) latest body of work – a collection of provocative, nighttime studies of the city and its inhabitants — earns the struggling photographer interest from prominent art gallerist Susan Hoff (Brooke Shields), she propels him to get grittier and show the darker side of humanity for his upcoming debut at her downtown art space.
Believing he’s finally on track for success, Leon’s obsessive pursuit of dark subject matter leads him into the path of a serial killer, Mahogany (Vinnie Jones), the subway murderer who stalks late-night commuters — ultimately butchering them in the most gruesome ways imaginable.

With his concerned girlfriend Maya (Leslie Bibb) fearing for his life, Leon’s relentless fascination with Mahogany lures him further and further into the bowels of the subways and ultimately into an abyss of pure evil – inadvertently pulling Maya right along with him.

The horror thriller Midnight Meat Train stars Bradley Cooper (Wedding Crashers, TV’s Alias), Vinnie Jones (X-Men: The Last Stand, Snatch), Brooke Shields (Nip/Tuck), and Leslie Bibb (the upcoming Trick ‘r Treat, Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby).

Also starring are Roger Bart (Hostel: Part II, TV’sDesperate Housewives), Peter Jacobson (Good Night, and Good Luck), Barbara Eve Harris (TV’s Prison Break), and UFC mixed martial arts fighter Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson.

Midnight Meat Train is directed by critically acclaimed Japanese director Ryûhei Kitamura (Versus, Azumi) in his American debut, and based on legendary horror writer Clive Barker’s popular, eponymous short story from his classic Books of Blood collection. The screenplay was adapted by Jeff Buhler. (Trailer Addict)

Review:

Clive Barker is one of the few Horror Genre storytellers that genuinly creeps me out.  As a director he’s responsible for some genuine creep-fests (Hellraiser,Lord of Illusions) that are extremely creepy and visually stunning.  As a writer, I haven’t given Clive Barker a chance.  All I know whenever his work is adapted, it’s been hit or miss (Candyman).

With The Midnight Meat Train, Clive Barker has teamed up with Asian film maker Ryûhei Kitamura who is responsible for 2 of my favorite Asian films: Versus and Azumi).  The result is an interesting and unsettling story combined with a very stylish and unique look.  The Midnight Meat Train, while it has some minor flaws; gives us an intriguing premise, beautiful yet horrific visuals and one of the most memorable movie killers in recent memory.

Let’s get the negative out of the way first.  The main flaw with this movie is the director’s use of CGI blood.  If you’ve watched any of Ryûhei Kitamura’s previous efforts it may not be so jarring.  There’s too much splatter.  Unreal amounts of blood fill the screen and instead of making the scene horrific, the result is opposite.  But, being familiar with Ryûhei Kitamura’s movies I was able to push that criticism aside.

Now, with my one criticism out of the way, let’s talk about one of the most original Horror movies to come out in recent memory.  The Midnight Meat Train is atmospheric, moody, gorgeously shot journey into madness.  Basically, a struggling photgrapher (Bradley Cooper, Will Tippin in TV’s Alias) gets obsessed with following a potential serial killer deep in the city’s subway system.  Along the way he witnesses a brutal murder and is now plagued with his obessions and doing the right thing.

One of the defining characteristics of The Midnight Meat Train is the killer, Mahogany (Vinnie Jones).  Vinnie Jones is amazing in this role.  He has one line, but the way he makes Mahogany into a fully fleshed out character is incredible.  There’s a moment where you even feel a sort of sympathy for Mahogany through the course of the film.

For the Horror buff, The Midnight Meat Train is a must see.  I’m shocked that Lionsgate didn’t know how to market this movie.  They robbed it of a proper theatrical release and dumped it to DVD, but a movie like this can’t be forgotten.  It’s a cult classic waiting to happen.  I can’t recommend this to the casual movie goer, but if you’re brave and don’t mind A LOT of gore, The Midnight Meat Train is one of the best releases of 2009 so far.

Rated R for sequences of strong bloody gruesome violence, grisly images involving nudity, sexual content and language.